Connie B's has everything a girly-girl could want

By Wendy Logan

Published 1:06 am, Friday, November 13, 2009

Connie Brown loves all things that sparkle and when you enter her charming boutique on North Main Street, that fact is hard to miss. Connie B's is a kind of ultra-feminine mecca, brimming with unique beaded purses, vintage crystal earrings, tiny rosebud-studded lamps and everything a girly-girl could want.

There are faux-finished, hand-painted armoires and vanity tables, antique linens and dishes, gem-encrusted picture frames and upholstered settees. There are jeans, belts, scarves, jackets and accessories of all kinds. If your taste runs a bit more toward funky, there are hip and modern bags, wooden cuff bracelets and chunky rings. If traditional is your style, there are vintage cameos and demure headbands. Best of all, Connie B's features prices that make shopping fun again. Not one of her young, festive dresses costs more than $50. Jewelry can be found for under $10 and up to several hundred, depending on your budget and style. Her mission is to offer fun and pretty items at reasonable prices.

Brown is a Norwalk native who grew up on Ely Avenue and remembers going to The Palace Theatre for movies every Friday night and having dinner next door at Pete the Greek's place. She adores Norwalk and she loves what she does here. Her passion for all that glitters and all things feminine and pretty started when she was a child. Her grandmother was a lace-maker, her grandfather, a glass blower. But it was her aunt, whose dazzling crystal chandeliers captivated Connie on every visit to her home, who may have been responsible for turning her into a sparkle junkie.

"I'm from a big Italian family," she mused. "And our décor always had lots of glitz going on. But my aunt's chandeliers were just magical to me. One day she asked me if I'd like to have one of the crystals from one of them and I was just thrilled. I took it home and kept it tucked away and I'd take it out and polish it and hold it up to the light. I loved everything shiny and pretty and that just evolved."

Brown started collecting linens and quilts and traveling to home, craft and gift shows to sell them. To this day, she takes great pride in her linens, hand washing and ironing every single one she acquires and making it new again before putting it on the shop floor to sell. As time went on, she began to add furniture to her collection, and lamps, and then eventually, jewelry.

"I used to do 40 shows per year," she said. "I was getting a little older and I started looking around and seeing these little old ladies, still out there selling, and I thought, `Wow! I don't want to be doing this forever...lugging furniture and antiques all over the place. It's exhausting.'" So she decided it was time to settle her wares into a shop.

A friend got in touch and told her about a spot in Cannondale Village in Wilton. "It was nice and I put the store in, but it was a bit off the beaten path. And then they started tearing up Route 7 and the signage was gone and it just became a struggle." Brown also recounts the type of shopper she encountered in Wilton -- people who would come in and try to bargain with her about prices she knew were already more than reasonable, adding to her frustration. When the lease ended, she decided Wilton was not for her. "I had two choices as far as I saw it. I was either going to move the store to Norwalk, or go out of business."

Once she saw the space in SoNo, she decided it was worth continuing. While she says her rent is a bit higher, she hopes the visibility she enjoys on the corner of Marshall and North Main Street will make up for it.

It's hard not to notice the dazzling window displays she's created for Connie B's. The biggest challenge now, she says, is that people take one look and assume the shop is expensive.

"I want people to realize how reasonable my prices are for what they're getting. Once you come in and look around, it becomes apparent. I offer real value here for very unique pieces. You won't find items like this in any other store in the area."

Connie B's is a family business. Brown's daughter works in the store. Her husband, a painter, does much of the faux finishing and hand painting of the furniture. Her son does deliveries.

"It's a family business," says Brown with pride.

Brown also prides herself on the customer service she provides. She expertly guides buyers, men and women alike, through their purchases, demonstrating various ways of tying a belt, suggesting collateral items based on what appears to interest her customers, and offering ideas for gifts for recipients of all ages and styles. Her shop is spotlessly clean and deftly decorated to optimize the gleaming pieces she sells.

"I always dreamed of having a store like this and it may not be the economic best time, but it's my time," she says.

Connie B's is located at 43 North Main St. in South Norwalk and is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 857-4485 for information.